Cabinet now mulls PICC as new Parliament House
KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 — The Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) may soon be the new Parliament House under a plan by the Najib administration to use the under-utilised building.
The proposal came into light following opposition from within the Cabinet over a much-criticised proposal to build a brand-new Parliament building in Putrajaya for an estimated RM800 million, to replace the current legislative complex in Kuala Lumpur.
“This is quite a complex situation… most Cabinet members did not agree (to RM800 million being used to build a new Parliament house).
“PICC is being considered as a permanent Parliament building because, well, it is being under-utilised,” Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz told The Malaysian Insider in an exclusive interview.
Nazri disclosed that some RM150 million would be used to repair the existing Parliament building, which had already undergone a RM100 million renovation five years ago.
“It would cost RM150 million to fix the current Parliament building. When the repair works are underway, we would have to leave this building, and Parliament would have to sit somewhere else. At least RM50 million would be needed to renovate a temporary building,” said Nazri.
The law minister also claimed that a new Parliament venue was desperately needed in the event of “future expansions” of seats in the Dewan Rakyat, which now has 222 members. Another 70 sit in the Dewan Negara, or Upper House.
“We have got to have a hard look at what we want. From wasting money on something temporary, why don’t we put it into something permanent?” he asked.
The Padang Rengas MP said the Cabinet was currently waiting for the Public Works Department (PWD) to complete its study on the feasibility of transforming PICC into a Parliament House.
“We are waiting for the Public Works Department to come back with a full report, before taking further action.
